Spectrum of average flux of the S-component of solar radio emission

Spectrum of average flux of the S-component of solar radio emission observed during the peak phase of the present solar cycle has been determined statistically. Daily values of the mean solar flux at 606, 1415, 2695, 4995 and 8800 MHz observed at the Sagamore Hill Solar Radio Observatory have been examined. The superposed epoch method (Chree analysis) has been used for determining the true nature of the S-component at all these frequencies. Spectrum has been obtained after elimination of the basic components at the respective frequencies. The important results obtained from the present statistical investigation are: (1) the basic component increases with frequency, (2) the S-component shows a maximum at 4995 MHz (6 cm), (3) the spectrum is independent of the phase of the 27-day cycle and (4) S-components at all the frequencies have slopes which are both more uniform and higher in the ascending phase than those in the descending phase of the 27-day cycle. In the descending phase slopes increase with frequency.     

An exact solution of time-dependent equation of transfer of trapped radiation in a finite absorbing medium

Milne's time-dependent equation of transfer of trapped radiation in finite absorbing medium has been exactly solved by a combination of Das Gupta's modified form of the Wiener-Hopf technique and method of solving boundary value problems in the theory of heat conduction as adopted by Chandrasekhar (1950) to solve the same equation approximately in combination with his method of discrete ordinates. Milne himself had earlier obtained an approximate solution of his equation.     

The pulses as a diagnostic technique in the Sun

In this paper we discuss a method of finding physical parameters by studying the pulses in the Sun. For the sake of a mathematical approach, we consider an ideal,highly relevant model which could exist in the Sun with the effects of ionization, due to which there will be a continuous formation of ionized particles. It is observed that the pulse originated at the centre of a dipole field propagates along the magnetic field. We derive a dispersion relation for these types of pulses, propagating from the centre to the solar surface. The time taken by the pulse from its source to the solar surface is also estimated, with due account of the ionization effects on the pulse. Without proper account of these effects, the technique employed in determing the physical parameters may lead to error. Temporal and spatial damping of the pulses lead to estimates of the velocity distribution of the ionized particles and of the amplitude of the magnetic field of the wave in pulse.     

Dholkata Bauxite Deposit on Metavolcanics, Keonjhar District, Orissa, India

Abstract. The Dholkata bauxite deposit of Keonjhar district, Orissa, has developed on the metavolcanics of tholeiitic basalt composition. The weathered profile reveals five distinct altered zones, such as topsoil, laterite, bauxite, lithomarge and altered metavolcanics. The mineralogy of different zones studied in a representative pit shows the association of major mineral constituents like gibbsite, goethite, hematite, kaolinite, limonite and quartz. Gibbsite is the most dominant one followed by goethite and hematite in the bauxite zone. The geochemical study of all weathering zones indicates the geochemical affinity of the elements Ni, Th and U for laterites and Cr, Zr and Hf for bauxites to occur in high quantities. Trend surface maps predict the bauxite zones in the different levels of the deposit. If the zones having A1₂O₃ 35–40 % are blended with high grade ores, the deposit may prove to be a potential one.     

Utilization and flow of energy in tropical ecosystem: A test case for two Ox-bow lakes

To estimate the rate of organic production, two solar powered tropical natural aquatic systems (Oxbow lakes) have been studied for 24 months. The study of utilization of energy in those two tropical lakes has revealed that herbivores were more efficient in energy utilization than autotrophs. Silver carp and grass carp were found to be most efficient in conversion of energy in the grazing and detritus food chain of these lakes. The efficiency of the system to fish production was found to be 0.05 % of the total available solar radiation. Various forms of life are all accompanied by energy changes, even though no energy is created or destroyed in the studied system.     

An occurrence of marsh gas in deccan traps (Basalt) in central India

During the course of groundwater exploration in the upper catchment of Betwa River basin in Madhya Pradesh, Central India, marsh gas at a depth of 171.33 m below ground level (bgl) has been observed bubbling out of the flowing water. The results of gas analysis reveal the presence of 88% methane and 2.08% helium. Water is of sodium chloride type and possesses a high concentration of fluoride and low concentrations of nitrate and sulphate. Tritium analysis of deep groundwater indicates a value of 2.8 T.U., indicating pre-1953 storage with possible traces of modern contamination, which may have been introduced during well construction. It is believed that an occurrence of marsh gas in Deccan Traps has not been reported earlier.     

Geohydrological conditions of the Deccan Trap flow around Saugor (M.P.), India

The geological formations that occur around Sagar consist of Upper Rewa quartzitic sandstones of Vindhvan age and nine Deccan Trap flows with three main inter-trappean bands. Most of the villages around Sagar depend upon the flow No. 5 for their water supplies. This flow forms valleys which may occur either in between the Vindhyan hills or Vindhyan hills and Trap hills, or Trap hills. To evaluate the geo-hydrological conditions of this flow under different topographic and stratigraphic controls, detailed geologic, water-shed and water table maps were prepared and analysed, after taking into consideration rain fall data for a period of sixty years. The villages selected for studies include the farm-lands of Richonda which occur in between the Vindhyan hills and Kudari, which occurs in between the Trap and Vindhyan hills. Villages like Patkui and Bhainsa, occurring on either side of the surface water divide of the same flow, are also taken into consideration. Water table maps for these villages were prepared once before the onset of rains and the second time immediately after the rains, on a scale of 16″ to a mile at 1 foot contour intervals. From such studies made on this flow, the following conclusions have been arrived at:

1. Where a flow occurs in adjacent Deccan Trap valleys separated by a long continuous Vindhyan ridge, the Vindhyan ridge may act as an underground barrier, separating the ground water body of the flow into two distinct units, and the upper unit may give rise to springs on that valley side of the Vindhyan having the lower elevation.
2. Where the Vindhyan ridge loses its height and disappears below the flow, the adjacent separate water bodies of this flow merge into a single water body. The portion of the Vindhyan ridge that occurs below the ground still continues to act as barrier for the water bodies of the lower flows.
3. Where the flow occurs over a large area, but at places is overlaid by younger flows, giving rise to hills with distinct water-shed characteristics, the water body of the flow is generally continuous on either side of the hills, immediately after the rains. This, however, gets disrupted into separate water bodies during summer months and it is found to recede in the slope direction; nevertheless, the trend of recession is controlled locally by the levels at which the porous zone of a flow occurs.
4. Where the continuity of the flow is disrupted due to denudation, producing valleys, the continuity of the water table of that flow is also interrupted.
5. On either side of a distinct surface water divide of a flow, the ground water bodies occur as separate units in the flow.

     

Meta-heuristic ant colony optimization technique to forecast the amount of summer monsoon rainfall: skill comparison with Markov chain model

Forecasting summer monsoon rainfall with precision becomes crucial for the farmers to plan for harvesting in a country like India where the national economy is mostly based on regional agriculture. The forecast of monsoon rainfall based on artificial neural network is a well-researched problem. In the present study, the meta-heuristic ant colony optimization (ACO) technique is implemented to forecast the amount of summer monsoon rainfall for the next day over Kolkata (22.6°N, 88.4°E), India. The ACO technique belongs to swarm intelligence and simulates the decision-making processes of ant colony similar to other adaptive learning techniques. ACO technique takes inspiration from the foraging behaviour of some ant species. The ants deposit pheromone on the ground in order to mark a favourable path that should be followed by other members of the colony. A range of rainfall amount replicating the pheromone concentration is evaluated during the summer monsoon season. The maximum amount of rainfall during summer monsoon season (June—September) is observed to be within the range of 7.5–35 mm during the period from 1998 to 2007, which is in the range 4 category set by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The result reveals that the accuracy in forecasting the amount of rainfall for the next day during the summer monsoon season using ACO technique is 95 % where as the forecast accuracy is 83 % with Markov chain model (MCM). The forecast through ACO and MCM are compared with other existing models and validated with IMD observations from 2008 to 2012.     

On multifractality and synchronization of nonlinear stellar pulsators

Simple models of nonlinear stellar pulsation, whose temporal behavior may reproduce some of the observed features of different classes of variable stars, have been studied. The temporal behavior of dynamical variables of these models exhibits a cascade of period doubling chaos, depending on the specific values of the various control parameters. A multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA) method is further used to identify the scaling behavior of such synthetic time series. The MFDFA of the considered time series, for various models of nonlinear stellar pulsation, shows that the observed multifractal nature is due to long-range correlations. The pulsating star with increased nonadiabaticity and the star with increased convective luminosity, as represented by the simulated data, is shown to possess a strange attractor with noninteger correlation dimension that lies between 2–3. Also the problem of synchronization in coupled nonlinear pulsation models has been investigated using permutation entropy—a complexity measure of the system. The computed order parameter, Γ, representing the correlation of computed permutation entropy for different segments of the simulated time series of displacement of two nonidentical oscillators, has been further used to find the critical coupling parameter for general synchronization of the oscillators.